Activities for Young Children Who are Losing Their Cool and the Importance of the Domestic Church

Catholics believe that the family is the most basic unit of the Church. All of the Popes since Vatican II have spoken of it as the “domestic Church.” In a loving family children learn through word and deed about how to live. They learn: fidelity, hospitality, how to work and play, how to share and be part of a community, how to pray, how to forgive, how to regulate emotions and deal with frustration, how to care for and welcome the needy, how to be good stewards of creation, contribute to the common good, and much more.

This is why Pope John Paul II said, “The family, called together by word and sacrament as the Church of the home, is both teacher and mother, the same as the worldwide Church.” And why Pope Benedict XVI said, “The family – the domestic Church – is a primary sphere of the Church’s life, especially because of its decisive role in the Christian education of children.”

By raising their children with love, parents play an essential role in creating a more peaceful world, but it can be difficult in a world that caters to the needs of adults to even know what to do with young children who are bouncing off the walls and losing their cool. Here’s a list of some activities from Anna Keating that are calming and engaging for young children, and grown ups too:

Loving = Donating

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